LA PAZ, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales on Sunday called on a national cleaning campaign to combat the dengue epidemic that has killed 22 people and infected at least 35,000 others in the country.

    The president urged for a "civic education" on cleaning, calling on his people to "fight against the garbage in houses and streets" in a bid to prevent the epidemic from spreading across the country.

    "I think we must do an intense campaign of education in order to take away the garbage from the streets and houses, and that is the responsibility of the families," Morales told a press conference in Trinidad, capital of the province of Beni.

    "The Bolivian families...should not wait for the militaries to come and clean their houses," Morales said.

    A cleaning campaign was carried out on Sunday in Trinidad to eliminate the breeding ground for mosquito and prevent dengue transmission.

    Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Also known as "break-bone fever," dengue fever's symptoms include high temperatures and muscle pain.